By From staff reports
Posted September 29, 2011 at 12:23 p.m., updated September 29, 2011 at 7:16 p.m.

A 55-year-old Ventura man pulled out of the ocean Wednesday by bystanders near Silver Strand died at the hospital, authorities said Thursday.

Robert Curtis was body-surfing and did not seem to hit anything in the water before he had problems, according to Armando Chavez, a senior deputy Ventura County medical examiner.

The cause of death was pending further tests, Chavez said. Curtis became unresponsive and drowned, but authorities were still working to determine what caused him to become unresponsive. Curtis didn’t appear to have a heart attack and was an avid swimmer.

Ventura County and Oxnard firefighters responded to a report of a possible dead body in the water about 3:50 p.m. Wednesday. By the time they arrived…